Number One Priority

DEVOTION 1 PETER NUMBER ONE PRIORITY 1 Peter 4:1-6 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do — living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. NIV Another very long dissertation which is one continuous thought that I dare not break up, but yet could deal with a many individual ideas within. How is it that we who believe can actually be done with sin while we live in the physical form? Is it actually possible to be completely free from committing one single sin for the rest of our life? Or is this just making the point of what is the main goal of our life? Do we live simple to sin, or do we live to please God? Being human, how do we escape some of those desires, which are called evil here? If we can forego debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and idolatry would then all else not count? Or is this just the idea of which direction we live for? Surely even if it is our highest desire to live for the will of God, it does not mean we are not going to fail at times, and get catch up for a moment in some attitude or action which is not pleasing to Him. Is this making an excuse, or provision for being human? Or is this just being realistic? It would seem some believers actually think they never sin anymore, which in itself is the sin of pride, thinking more highly of themselves then they should. But still we are to turn from the former way of living and not be involved in the horrible lifestyle which includes the absolute lack of reverence for God and His will for our lives. I know those who believe when they die, they simple cease to exist, but that is not true, for they will have to stand before God and give an account of their refusal to accept Him and His ways. I also know some who think if they live simple being good, they will escape judgment, and will enter into heaven. But we who know, it is through Jesus Christ and Him alone do we escape this judgment, even if we fail, even if we still have sin in our life, even if we are not perfect, for Christ is our righteousness, as we can never be righteous enough in our own strength. But our main focus in life must be to live for God and not for self. That must be our number one priority.

He Has The Power

DEVOTION 1 PETER HE HAS THE POWER 1 Peter 3:20-22 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. NIV I know we all talk about having Jesus in our heart, but I am so glad he is not in my heart, but rather he is at the right hand of the Father in heaven. It seems rather strange to say he is in my heart when he is in heaven. Now it is true the Spirit of Jesus is in our hearts, that is His nature, His ways, and even the Spirit of God dwells within us, but not actually Jesus the person, the son of the living God. It is far better for us that Jesus is in heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father, for He is always making intercession for us. The Father has placed all the angels, all the authorities on earth and all miraculous powers, miracles under His authority. This is why He told us if we ask anything in His name, it would happen. He has the power, the authority to give it. Of course, the Father has given the Son that authority and if we remember Jesus even said that He must go, and if He goes, He will send the Spirit. The Father did not send the counselor, Jesus did. What a Lord and Savior we have, what power and authority He holds, and it is this same Jesus who submitted Himself to such pain and suffering for us, even to the pain and disgrace of the cross. He was treated as a criminal, killed by men, so we could live. This is real power, real authority, and real love. And it is in this same spirit of power, authority and love that we should live our lives. If we say we have Jesus in our heart, we are saying we have this same spirit, this same demeanor, this same attitude toward serving others over self every time, all the time. If we study the list of the results of being an overcomer in the first three chapters of Revelations we see just how much we will be given when we get to heaven, much as in the same way Jesus was given all he was. We will eat from the tree of life, we will not be hurt by the second death, we will have authority over the nations, we will be dressed in white and our names never blotted out of the book of life, we will be pillars in the temple of God, and we will be given the right to sit on the throne of Jesus with Him. All of this will be given to us by the power and authority of Jesus. Aren’t you glad He is in heaven? He has the power!

In Or Out

DEVOTION 1 PETER IN OR OUT 1 Peter 3:17-22 17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. NIV I should just leave this alone for it appears there is just so much here that I could not possibly deal with all of it, yet I cannot separate it either. There is no question about the fact Christ died for all our sins, past, present and future and that we need not have to bring any type of sacrifice to God for our sin for Christ was and is the ultimate sacrifice. The sticky part is this going and preaching to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago. Some would use this to teach Jesus descended into hell to preach to those lost souls waiting for the last Day of Judgment, but they would be incorrect in that teaching. While the whole of the passage includes Noah and thus this is talking about those people God in his mercy who had already condemned them to perish in the flood, waited patiently for them to repent giving Noah the Spirit of Christ to preach to them. In the original language it is not Christ preaching to the spirits , but the Spirit of Christ preaching to those in prison, those who had already been condemned by God to die in the flood. It is certain the Ark is a for shadowing of the cross. God was showing the world that only those within the safety of the Ark would be saved and thus only those in the safety of the cross will be saved. As He waited patiently for them to repent, He waits now, for more to repent, and as He closed the door to the Ark, He will close this door someday and those who refuse to repent and enter the safety of the cross will perish, not in a flood this time, but in the destruction of fire, the burning lake of sulfur. The other sticky point is the being saved by through baptism, which some would claim is true. Once again, this would be adding something to Jesus, Jesus plus. This is not the case in which God is making His point through Peter. It is about the Ark on the water and those it were saved, the ark was not a submarine. It is about having a good conscience before God. Being in Christ and following Him. As Noah was saved because of a good conscience, he found favor in God sight, so as we enter the cross, through faith in Christ, we find favor in Gods sight and are saved. It is simply and plain, either we are in or out.

In The Spirit

DEVOTION 1 PETER IN THE SPIRIT 1 Peter 3:13-16 13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." 15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. NIV The Word of God always sets people apart from others. Those who believe are different from those who do not believe, and in some cases those unbelieving people would slander and attempt to discredit those who believe. The unbeliever may even attempt to cause some kind of harm, perhaps not in the physical sense in our cultural but in the emotional or social sense. Why do they dislike us so much? Does our faith threaten them? If they do like us, maybe it is because we are not that different them. But if we are living out the Word of God in our lives and are living with this hope of eternal life and do not fear death or anything which would cause harm to us, even in a social sense, they will surely have a certain distain for us, for they fear what they do not know. They fear life itself, and all the complications and troubles it could bring, they work so hard trying to develop a secure life, a secure future, striving for what they think will keep them safe. We have nothing to fear of life, and all its problems, for we serve a higher power who has secured our future, our eternal future. What can man do to us that would cancel that out? We have such a security in Christ that anything man could say or do against us means nothing. But at the same time we should always be ready to share our faith, the reason we live with such joy, even in the difficulties of life. We should always have the Word of God on the tip of our tongue. Sure they may not like to hear our answer as it even may make them dislike us all the more, but if we say it with love and respect, not is a harsh and authoritative manner, just maybe they will hear the words. It goes back to do not repay evil with evil here. We need to stay the course of life in Christ, sharing the Gospel in gentleness and with love even in the face of strong opposition. That may be their ultimate goal anyway, to get us to become violent in nature, argumentative, anger that they will not listen or do not believe the Word. We know who we are, and we should be strong in the Spirit, but gentle in the world, giving them nothing to slander. We need to live in the Spirit.

Just Do It

DEVOTION 1 PETER JUST DO IT 1 Peter 3:8-12 8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. 11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." NIV Certainly a lot here, but I dare not split it up as it is all one continuous teaching in which God inspires Peter to quote from the writer of the 34th Psalm. Yet to live in harmony with another is quite a mouthful in itself. It is interesting God is not staying with just the husband and wife here, but with all of us. We all need to live in harmony with one another. Now exactly what does that mean? Looking into the Greek we find the word which means like-minded. Would this not fly in the faith of denominational differences? Would this not speak directly to anything which would keep us from agreeing? Harmonious living within the body of Christ would imply no ill feelings at all about anyone in the church. No feeling better about self over another, no judging their failures, no envy, no jealousy and no prideful attitudes. All that would be impossible if we were being sympathetic and loving everyone as brothers. This would also prevent any retribution other than blessing each other. How easy it is to get an attitude when someone lets loose with an insult. Of course an insult is only an insult if the receiver has a prideful attitude instead of being compassionate and humble. Who in their right mind would want their days to be bad? We all would love to have our days good, filled with the fruit of the Spirit, enjoying the blessings of God, having Him listen attentively to our prayers, and bringing the answers in such a wonderful way. But there is a standard, a condition so to speak. It is right there, for our reading and understanding, plain and simple, no confusion or hidden symbolism. Watching our language means just that, how we talk to each other. Turning from evil means turning from evil, doing good means doing good, seeking peace means exactly that. What is so difficult about understanding this? It is plain and simple, all we have to do is do it.

Listen Up

DEVOTION 1 PETER LISTEN UP 1 Peter 3:7 7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. NIV It seems a little unjust after spending so many words about wives to simply tell the husband to be considerate of his wife and treat her with respect as the weaker partner. It is surprising many women do not consider this a slam, calling them the weaker partner, especially in this modern era. Perhaps this is implying only in the physical sense as in most cases men are the stronger and could inflict great physical damage to a women. As I have often stated, I believe men and women are truly equal in the eyes of God, but have different responsibilities. So here us men must not dominate our wives, forcing them to submit under fear of physical pain, but we should be considerate of them, giving them the respect and honor they are due, for they are co-heirs of the gift of God. We have nothing more or less than them and they have nothing more or less them us. We should therefore always think of them with respect in our heart for who they are as a person, as our partner in life, as a fellow believer in Christ, and as our wife, which in many cases also includes being the mother of our children. It would be unwise for us men to think of ourselves as the king of our castle and expect to be treated as a king not by our wife but by our servant. Great kings have always had great queens. It has been said if you want to be treated like a king, treat your wife as a queen. Partners are partners which in itself imply equality. If we ever expect God to hear and answer us in our times of conversation with him, our prayers, we need to heed this counsel. Men we need to listen up.

The Lost Art

DEVOTION 1 PETER THE LOST ART 1 Peter 3:1-6 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. NIV What could I say that would not make me out to be a chauvinist? Yet in a cultural, in a society which has place so much attention and importance upon the equality of women in all aspects of life, this concept spoken of here may be a lost art. Has the thinking of the world infiltrated the body of Christ? Do believing women conduct themselves in their thinking and actions as the world would have them or as God would have them? This whole concept of so much attention to the outward beauty has surely diminished the idea of inner beauty, which Matthew recorded about what Jesus said about it in regard to the eyes reflecting what is inside, and what God inspired Peter to pen here. Perhaps many believing women simply cannot come to terms with being under the authority of their husbands because they have adopted the philosophy of the modern cultural of the United States. Perhaps one of the reasons believing women have so much trouble with living as God would have them, is due to the lack of men living as God would have them. Have believing men lost the art of being responsible? Have they relinquished their position of head of the house to their wives? Have they given over the raising of children in the ways of God to their wives? God is going to speak to men next, but I think it is worth consideration that this is a two way street. Both the husband and the wife may have lost the art of being the family God intends them to be. It is a fact God holds the man responsible for his family and so with responsibility comes authority. Men need to step up, and women need to step up as well, to the standard God has set. A women’s true beauty in within her, her loving caring spirit which nourishes a relationship in the home far exceeds any makeup upon her face, polish on her nails and fancy hair style on her head. A women’s true worth is in God, rather than what position she holds at some company or within this society. A women’s true worth is how God sees her rather than how other women view her.I know there are many different situations and perhaps some where men abuse their position, or even abuse their wives. This should never be tolerated, I am convinced God will judge accordingly. But it still remains God desires women to live in a manner which pleases him. I hope believing women have not lost this art.